Three things we learnt from the Singapore Grand Prix

The first-ever rain-soaked night race was a maddening spectacle. Here’s what we learnt post the Singapore GP.

Lewis Hamilton won the recently concluded Singapore Grand Prix increasing his lead at the top of the championship table to 28 points after the championship rival Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari was left without a nose post first-corner collision. Daniel Ricciardo took his RB13 home in second position while the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas came in at third.

Here’s what we learnt after the fourteenth race of the season:

1. Daniel Ricciardo is a psychic

During the drivers’ parade, Daniel Ricciardo was asked his strategy and he hinted guessed that his teammate, who was P2 on the starting grid, would take pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel out and that would pave the way for a good result for him. Well, he wasn’t totally incorrect.

2. Sergio Perez has equal number of points but less amount of frustration than Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez posted another top five finish – his third of the year after Spain (P4) and Canada (P5). With this, the Merican has moved equal in points with Max Verstappen. For Verstappen, who has a podium and a faster car, however, the string of DNFs (seven so far, this year) hasn’t been of much help and hence the Red Bull Racing and the Force India drivers are level on (88) points in sixth place in the standing. What differentiates between the two is that Perez is content with his team’s performance while Verstappen feels that Red Bull Racing is letting him down despite being one of the top teams on the grid. Force India’s performance proves once again that consistency (and not flash in the pan performance) pays in the long run.

3. Carlos Sainz had the best weekend

Earlier in the week, it was announced that Carlos Sainz will replace Jolyon Palmer at Renault for 2018. The Spaniard celebrated the news by posting P4 – his best-ever race result. This must’ve further boosted the confidence of Renault works team. Though Jolyon Palmer lost his drive at Renault, he did give the French team something to think about after scoring his personal best P6 finish.

Now, as the Formula One action moves to Malaysia, it remains to be seen if Ferrari will put larger rear mirrors on Sebastian Vettel’s car or whether Max Verstappen gets an restraining order against the Ferraris.

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